10 Bollywood films to look forward to in 2016

2015 is about to come to a close with the year ending with a fierce battle between Dilwale and Bajirao Mastaani. But the battle is far from being won since 2016 brings along a slew of new films. lets start from the #10 spot.

The 10th spot is tied with 2 films both taking up the spot.

#10 Kapoor and Sons and M.S Dhoni- The Untold Story

Kapoor and Sons

Remember Ek main aur ek Tu? The film directed by Shakun Batra was a refreshing take on Indian rom coms. Well he is back with this film again under Karan Johar's Dharma starring Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra and Fawad khan. The movie revolves around two brothers played by Sidharth Malhotra and Fawad Khan. Rishi Kapoor will be playing grandfather of the male leads.The music will be composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with Sanjay Dutt and Amrita Puri in supporting roles.

M.S Dhoni- The Untold Story

Directed by Neeraj Pandey who has films like A Wednesday, Special 26 and Baby to his credit this biography of ex-Indian Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the trump cards of 2016. Sushant Singh Rajputt is playing Dhoni and Kiara Advani plays Sakshi Singh Dhoni. The film will also star the likes of John Abraham, Ram Charan, Shreyas Talpade and Fawad Khan.

#9 Ki and Ka

Directed by R.Balki of Cheeni Kam and Paa fame, this film explores the role of men and women in Indian society. Arjun Kapoor and Kareena play a married couple whose relationship challenges the gender roles placed upon women and men in Indian society. The film also stars Amitabh bachchan and jaya bachchan.


#8 Te3n

Being promoted as the comeback of Sujoy Ghosh and Vidya Balan together, this stars Amitabh Bachchan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles and Vidya Balan in a cameo.


#7 Mohen Jo Daaro

Set in the pre-historic times of one of the oldest civilizations of the world, mohen jo daaro has hrithik reuniting with Jodhaa Akbar director Asutosh Gowarikar. Not much is known about the plot of the film, except that the film is to be a romantic adventure story with Hrithik fighting giant crocodiles. The film has extensively been shot in Bhuj, Gujarat, and will see Hrithik romancing debutant Pooja Hegde.


#6 Dangal

Amir Khan plays a wrestler with 2 grown daughters. Tackling themes of Gender Equality and Rural Discrimination, it is based on the life of real-life wrestler, Mahavir Singh Phogat, who taught wrestling to his daughters Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat, and made them national level champions. To add to the unconventionality, Sakshi Tanwar plays Amir’s wife.

#5 Rangoon

Shahid Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj are reuniting after Kaminey and Haider in this period film. Set in the time of World War 2, this could be about the Japanese invasion of Burma during 2nd world war. It also stars Kangana ranuat and Saif ali khan speculating that the film is a love triangle set against the backdrop of the Second World War.

Vishal Bhardwaj has himself said- “Rangoon is a classic tale that will have the musical charm of Moulin Rouge, the romance of Casablanca and the intensity and drama of Saving Private Ryan.”

Release Date-Aug 2016


#4 Udta Punjaab

Set in the heartland of Punjab this is a dark-thriller drama dealing with the increased rate of drug use in the state of Punjab. Starring Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor and Punjabi actoir Diljit Dosanjh in 4 different tracks, the film shows how drug abuse results in their lives converging. Shot in a real fashion by Abhishek Chaubey, director of Ishqiya this has gone from an offbeat small film, which no one wanted to do due to the dark nature of the story to one of the most talked about films releasing in 2016.

Release Date- Jan 2016

#3 Jagga Jasoos

Starring real life couple Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, the film narrates the story of a young detective who is on a mission to find his lost stepfather. Ranbir plays the detective called jagga Jasoos and he stammers hwnever he speaks. Only time he doesn’t stammer when he sings- hence the film has most of his dialogues in form of songs. Such a genre has never been attempted in in Bollywood, and the film has more than 15 songs which will be a unique experience to watch.

Release Date- June 2016


#2 Fan

A superstar playing his own fan on celluloid. The premise on which this film is based is intriguing and when Shahrukh Khan plays both the celluloid star and his fan doubles that excitement. Shahrukh plays a 17 year old boy Gaurav, a die-hard fan of superstar Aryan Khanna (Also played by Shahrukh Khan), who apes his idol’s mannerisms and style of conduct. Things take for a turn, when he decides to meet the man who has inspired his life till now. Fingers crossed for this one!

Release Date- 15 April 2016

#1 Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Karan Johar returns to directing after 4 years with a stellar starcast. Said to be a romantic drama, the film has Aishwarya rai playng an older love interest to Ranbir kapoor. It is rumoured that Anushka plays Aishwarya's younger sister and Fawad khan as Ash's ex husband.

Release Date- Diwali 2016

6 other films which could be different, but I am too sceptical about.

Shivaay- Ajay Devgan seems to be a Shiv Bhakht in this South Flavoured Flick.
Gangaajal 2- Priyanka replaces Ajay Devgan as the tough cop.
Sarabjit- Ash plays sister of Sarabjit, the Indian prisoned and hanged by Pak Govt.
Raees- SRK is playing Don in a film which is not named Don
Airlift- Akshay kumar seems to be making patriotic films along the line of Argo
Sultaan- Salman has changed his look which is a shocking thing in itself.

See you at the movies! :)

How accurately do the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) Predict the Oscars?

Screen Actors Guild Awards are the awards which kickstart the Oscar season with their nominations. This year with so many different (read female character based) films competing in different categories, there has been no clear frontrunner in the Oscar race. And with Revenant, Joy and hateful Eight not having released for public, it has become even harder. All this increases the importance of SAG awards this year.

SAG Awards are noticed every year, but after 2 years of continuously being able to predict all Oscar winners correctly- this year SAG is like a mini Oscar in itself. Both Oscars and SAG nominate 20 actors in four categories: best actor and actress and best supporting actor and actress.

Oscar nominees are determined by Academy members- actors nominate other actors, and film editors nominate other film editors. The pool of actors who nominate other actors for acting awards is quite similar in both Oscars and SAG, so the nominees tend to line up with those at the Oscars.
But how accurate are the SAG Awards? I decided to go through the last 5 years of nomination data available and crosscheck if they also got Oscar Nominations. Here are the results.

1. BEST ACTOR

As we can see the last 5 year winners of both SAG and Oscars are the same. As far as nominations are concerned, atleast 4 out of 5 are correct each year. So yes, we can say Best Actor category is predicted well by SAG.

2. BEST ACTRESS

Again last 5 years show, only on one ocassion did the SAG miss out on being correct. But even that year, Viola was clearly said to be winning, only that Academy voters thought of finally honoring Meryl with her 3rd Oscar after 19 years. SO it was more of a honorary thing rather than a note on acting capabilities.
Nomination wise SAG has done quite well, predicting with 80% accuracy.

3. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

So the SAG went wrong once in the last 5 years when they did not even nominate Christopher Waltz for Inglorious Bastards, who went on to win the Oscars. Other than this mistake, the nomination accuracy is much better with 100% accuracy in 2 of the last 5 years.

4. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Even in highly competitive years like in 2014, when Jlaw and Lupita were head to head, SAG did predict the winners correctly. its track record for nominations is even better with 100% in one year and 80% in rest.

Whereas the best picture is concerned, SAG does not give out a Best Picture award, instead it gives A Best Ensemble Cast award, which is usually won by a future Best picture nominee. Past winners have included Best Picture Winners like The artist, Argo, American Hustle and Boyhood.

Hence we have seen in the 4 acting categories, 4/5 SAG nominees will definitely be there up at the Oscar nominations on 14th Jan as well. The 5th place will be open for fight and lobbying. SAG nominations wil clear a lot of uncertainty in the acting categories. Just look at this photo- All of them were Oscar/Emmy winners also.

The SAG Nominations will be announced today, 9th December at 10 a.m. (ET) / 7 a.m. (PT). It is 18:30 in the evening for Indian users. Tune into http://www.sagawards.tntdrama.com/ where you can watch the nominations live. The actual award ceremony takes place on 30th January, a month before the Oscars.

OSCARS 2016 NOMINATIONS: My Predictions

Like every year this time, the November cold winds wake up the blogger in me- And this means only one thing- The Oscar season is upon us!
Since it is still soon to predict the nominees as major films like Joy, Revenant, Hateful Eight and Carol haven't opnened in theatres, we are looking at the films with maximum chances at being nominated.

To predict the nominees this year, I have analysed predictions made by 10 different reports including Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Gold derby, Awards Circuit and Awards Daily. So without wasting time. let's get started with the Best picture.


1. BEST PICTURE

Last year it was Birdman vs Boyhood. The year before it was 12 Years a Slave all the way. A year before Black Swan vs The King's Speech.

This year we have no less than 13 contenders for the top spot. There are box office hits like Sicario, Mad Max and The Martian, while at the same time festival favs like Son of Saul, Youth and Spotlight contending for the Best Picture. Revenant hasn't released yet, but the few reviews it has got confirm it a spot on the nomination list.

Martian, Spotlight, Room, Brooklyn have fixed 4 spots. What about the next 4 or 5 spots? At this time it seems like Joy, Revenant, Bridge of Spies, Carol and Inside Out will make the cut. That makes it 8. If the Academy decides to have a 9th or 10th spot, it will be Hateful Eight according to me. If Hateful Eight turns out as good as Tarantino's last few movies, it might edge Steve Jobs out of the nominee list. It seems unlikely that Danish Girl or Mad Max will make the cut. But don't be surprised if a small film like Beasts of No Nation or Anomalisa make the cut.

Nominees will be-

The Martian
Brooklyn
Room
Spotlight
Joy
The Revenant
Bridge of Spies
Inside Out
Steve Jobs
Carol
The Hateful Eight

Final Fight- The Martian vs Spotlight
Who will win- Spotlight (Usually Academy doesnt award outright box office behemoths and its bias against sci-fi is well known , remember Gravity?


2. BEST ACTOR

A refreshing change at the Oscars will be that this year The best actor Race is one of the most boring awards race ever. Every Year there are so many great male performances that there are atleast 7-8 performances all worthy of winning. This year it was a tough job to even come up with 5 nominees.

Nominees

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl
Johnnie Depp- Black mass
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Matt Damon – The Martian

Final Fight- Leonardo Di Caprio vs Matt Damon
Who will Win- Not very clear though Leonardo Di Caprio seems to have an edge but we will know only after Revenant releases (Eddie Redmayne won't win consecutively, Steve Jobs is very unlikeable)


3. BEST ACTRESS

The Best Actor's race seems to have shifted to the Best Actress's race this year. There are atleast 7 performances which would have won if this was any other year. But it's not the case in 2015. Cate blanchett seemed to be leading until a few months ago but the academy took 19 years to give Meryl Streep her 3rd Oscar, Surely they will make Blanchett wait a bit longer than 2 years. Her co-star from carol, Rooney Mara won Best Actress at Cannes this year, but she is being promoted as Supporting Actress. Older women like Charlotte Ramping and Lily Tomlin have given the performance of their lifetime in 45 years and Grandma. Yet none of them seem to be winning this year. This year has seen 2 not so known actresses giving heart felt performances in Room and Brooklyn and are said to be leading contenders for the coveted prize.

Nominees this year-

Brie larson, Room
Cate Blacnhett, Carol
Jennifer lawrence, Joy
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Charlotte Ramping, 45 Years

Final Fight- Brie Larson vs Cate Blanchett
Who will win- Brie Larson (Room)

4. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Spotlight with a huge ensemble cast seems to be locked for 2 nominations in this category. The other person who is getting a lot of buzz is benicio De toro for Sicario. Tom Hardy may have a good chance of he is as good as they are saying he is in the Revenant.

The nominees will be

Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Michael Keaton, Spotlight
Benicio del Toro, Sicario
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Final Fight- Michael Keaton vs Mark Ruffalo vs Tom Hardy
Who will Win- Unclear since Revenant hasn't released but Spotlight is leading

5. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees-
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Rooney Mara, Carol
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Jane Fonda, Youth
Jennifer Jason-Leight, The Hateful Eight

Final Fight- Rooney Mara vs Alicia Vikander
Who will win- Rooney Mara (Hands Down)

6. BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees-
Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, "The Revenant"
Ridley Scott, "The Martian"
David O. Russell, "Joy"
Ryan Coogler, "Creed"

Final Fight- Tom McCarthy vs Ridley Scott
Who will win- Ridley Scott (Give him his first Oscar, come on)

7. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Nominees-

Carol
Room
Brooklyn
Steve Jobs
Anomalisa

Final Fight- Carol vs Room
Who will Win- Carol

Let the Games Begin! Find the awards season schedule below-

9th Dec 2015- SAG Awards nominations announced
10th Dec 2015- Golden Globe nominations announced
10th Jan - Golden Globe Awards (Tina and Amy won't be returning)
14th Jan- Academy Award Nominations announced
30th Jan - SAG Awards
6th Feb - DGA Awards
14th Feb - BAFTA Awards
28th Feb - 88th Annual Academy Awards (Hosted by Chris Rock)

Watch out for next post regarding Golden Globes.

OSCAR 2015- NOMINATIONS PREDICTION

2014 has been one of the most boring Awards season, with more than usual sore shot nominees and winners. But Oscars have been known for a few surprise nominations like the golden globes are known for the surprise wins. Like in 2012 the Beasts of the Southern Wild became a darling in nominations or when Amour gained a best picture nominee or when The Toy Story 3 picked up a Best Picture nomination. So be ready for 1 or 2 surprises.

BEST FILM- Gone Girl won’t be nominated for Best Film

1. Boyhood
2. Birdman
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel
4. The Theory of everything
5. The Imitation game
6. Foxcatcher
7. Selma
8. Nightcrawler
9. American Sniper

The first 5 have their spot fixed. While a lot of momentum has been gained for the female director of Selma and the film itself, some problem due to late screeners are being cited. Foxcatcher has lost its steam over the past few months and could be replaced by either of the dark horses. Nightcrawler and Whiplash are also not very sure nominees. The weirdest thing would be if Into the woods managed a nod. But I wouldn’t be surprised if a foreign language film like Amour gets a nod here, but no film has the widespread acclaim as Amour.

Dark Horses-
10. Whiplash
11. Gone Girl

BEST ACTOR

1. Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of everything"
2. Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
3. Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
4. Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"
5. Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"

This being very competitive like very year, I am sure the 4th or 5th person could be somebody from the below dark Horses.

Dark Horses-
6. David Oyelowo, "Selma"
7. Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper"

BEST ACTRESS

1. Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
2. Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"
3. Felicity Jones, "The Theory of everything"
4. Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
5. Jennifer Aniston, "Cake"

Thank god for Reese Witherspoon, who is responsible for 2 of the nominations here- As producer of Gone Girl and Wild in which she stars herself.

Dark Horse-
I love Marion Cotillard and her role in Two Days and One Night has been widely acclaimed. But who will be snubbed if she gets a nod?
Amy Adams, although won Best Actress at the recent Golden Globes won't manage a nomination here at the Oscars which could be her 6th nomination in last 9 years.

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
2. Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"
3. Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
4. Ava DuVernay, "Selma"
5. Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"

Dark Horse-

6. Damian Chazelle, "Whiplash"
7. Clint Eastwood, "American Sniper"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
2. Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
3. Edward Norton, "Birdman"
4. Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
5. J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Dark Horse-
None

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Jessica Chastain won't be nominated

1. Patricia Arquettte, "Boyhood"
2. Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
3. Emma Stone, "Birdman"
4. Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"
5. Rene Russo, "Nightcrawler"

The 1st 3 nominees are a lock and I would like the 4th and 5th to be replaced with Chastain or Twilda or Laura Dern.

Dark Horses-
Laura Dern, "Wild"
Jessica Chastain, "A most Violent Year'
Twilda Swinton, "Snowpiercer"
Carrie Coon, "Gone Girl"

BEST ANIMATED FILM

1. "The LEGO Movie"
2. "How to Train Your Dragon 2"
3. "Big Hero 6"
4. "The Boxtrolls"
5. "Song of the Sea"

Dark horse-
The Tale of Princess Kaguya


P.s- Best Film and Actor are very competitive and I would be surprised if I got them all correct. Similarly I would be surprised if I got any in Actress or Supp Actor incorrect. I would love if I am incorrect about Supp Actress, although I fear I am not.

PREDICTING THE GLOBES: And the Golden Globe goes to...

Let me get one thing straight from the onset. While the Oscars are reliable in terms of their winners, the Golden Globes are known to be the Oscar's drunken, unpredictable cousin. Thanks to Tina fey and Amy Poehler the Golden globes have reached anticipation near equal to the Oscars.

Despite all this Globes are the best Oscar predictors. For example last year’s major Globe winners — “12 Years a Slave,” Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett and Alfonso CuaronIf all went on to win their respective Oscars after winning the globes. If Jeniffer Aniston wins Best actress for cake, she will be sure of a nomination at the Oscars.


Best Motion Picture, Drama
“Boyhood”
“Foxcatcher”
“The Imitation Game”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”

Will win: “Boyhood”
Should win: “Boyhood”

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
“Birdman”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Into the Woods”
“Pride”
“St. Vincent”

Will win: “Birdman”
Should win: “Birdman”

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
David Oyelowo, “Selma”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”

Will win: Eddie Redmayne
Should win: David Cumberbatch

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Jennifer Aniston, “Cake”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

Will win: Julianne Moore
Should win: Julianne Moore

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams, “Big Eyes”
Emily Blunt, “Into The Woods”
Helen Mirren, “The Hundred-Foot Journey”
Julianne Moore, “Maps To The Stars”
Quvenzhane Wallis, “Annie”

Will win: Amy Adams
Should win: Julianne Moore

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Ralph Fiennes, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Bill Murray, “St. Vincent”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Inherent Vice”
Christoph Waltz, “Big Eyes”

Will win: Michael Keaton
Should win: Ralph Fiennes

Best Director – Motion Picture
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Ava DuVernay, “Selma”
David Fincher, “Gone Girl”
Alejandro González Iñárritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”

Will win: “Boyhood”
Should win: “Boyhood”


Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Meryl Streep, “Into The Woods”

Will win: Patricia Arquette
Should win: Patricia Arquette


Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Robert Duvall, “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

Will win: J.K. Simmons
Should win: J.K. Simmons


Best Animated Feature Film
“Big Hero 6”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The LEGO Movie”

Will win: “The LEGO Movie”
Should win: “The LEGO Movie”


Best Foreign Language Film
“Force Majeure”
“Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem”
“Ida”
“Leviathan”
“Tangerines”

Will win: “Ida”



Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Gillian Flynn, “Gone Girl”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, “Birdman”
Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game”

Will win: “Birdman”
Should win: “Birdman”



Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“Big Eyes” (Big Eyes)
“Glory” (Selma)
“Mercy Is” (Noah)
“Opportunity” (Annie)
“Yellow Flicker Beat” (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part I)

Will win: “Glory”
Should win: “Glory”



Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat, “The Imitation Game”
Johann Johannsson, “The Theory of Everything”
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, “Gone Girl”
Antonio Sanchez, “Birdman”
Hans Zimmer, “Interstellar”

Will win: “Birdman”
Should win: “Interstellar”